CSS Profile - My parents are divorced and one of them live in another country, should I still add them as my parent on the CSS even though they do nothing to contribute financially?

Paying for College
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I’ve been doing the CSS profile and am confused about some things. Since one of my parents isn’t legally a resident here and doesn’t file taxes with us, how should I go about reporting them? I’m not familiar with the system of my home country so it would be difficult to get certain information required by the CSS Profile.

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Only some CSS Profile schools require both divorced parents.

But those which do will require you to report both of them and have both of them fill in parent forms (separately). If one refuses, you could ask each school for a waiver, but getting a waiver is generally considered a reach.

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Generally your overseas parent will have to fill out their portion of the CSS, if you have contact with them (whether or not they provide financial support).

You specify their info in the CSS and that parent will receive what they need to fill out. Filling out the CSS doesn’t mean that they are obligated to contribute $ for college. But, their income and assets will be part of the info used to determine how much financial need you have. If this parent is remarried, CSS will require the spouse’s financials too.

Here is a list of CSS schools, and whether they require non custodial parent info. Double check this info on each school’s website.

https://profile.collegeboard.org/profile/ppi/participatingInstitutions.aspx

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What if I don’t have contact with them? CSS asks for his email but I don’t have one. Again he lives in another country and has been divorced for a long time so I know almost nothing about him.

5

You can apply for a waiver with this form: https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/css-profile-waiver-request-non-custodial-parent.pdf

Each college will make its own decision about waiving the non-custodial parent information, and the decisions may not necessarily all be the same.

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You can contact each school’s financial aid office and speak to a staff person (not the student who a sees the phone). Tell them your situation. They will tell you what to do, which will likely include filling out the NCP waiver form, linked above. Do you have a third party who can attest to the fact you don’t have contact with your parent? Someone like a HS counselor, or church clergy, attorney, etc?

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